Hamas caught with $15million in cash at Rafah border

Hamas negotiators stopped with suitcases stuffed with $15m

SMH
February 6, 2009 - 6:09AM

Hamas negotiators left Egypt without a long-term ceasefire with Israel on Thursday - but not before some members of the militant group's delegation were stopped at the Gaza border with millions in cash.

The delegation walked away from the ceasefire talks because of disagreements over the blockage on Gaza, and over border security, but talks will continue at a later date. Egypt had set Thursday as an expected date for reaching a long-term truce deal.

An Egyptian security official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media, said the group initially refused to be searched by Egyptian authorities at the Rafah border crossing. When the group relented, authorities found $US7 million ($10.9 million) and 2 million euro ($4 million) in cash in their suitcases. Another security official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said $US9 million and 2 million euro were found. The discrepancy could not be immediately explained.

The money was later deposited in an account in Egypt by a Hamas member who stayed behind while the rest of the delegation was allowed to return to Gaza, the second security official said. It was not clear what would happen to the money.

There was no immediate comment from Hamas.

The incident is a sensitive one for Egypt, particularly now when Israel is demanding a halt to Hamas smuggling into Gaza as part of truce negotiations. Israel complains that Hamas - which gets funding from Iran, Syria and donations from supporters - smuggles money and weapons through Egypt into the Gaza Strip.

Mostly the smuggling is done through tunnels at the border. But in the past - before border crossings were tightly sealed in 2007 - Hamas officials had brought in cash as well. In 2006, a senior Hamas official bragged about successfully carrying $42 million across the border.

Arab banks have generally refused to transfer money to Gaza for fear of running afoul of the United States, which considers Hamas a terrorist organisation. The money has helped keep afloat the Hamas government, which is generally shunned by foreign governments.

Israel and Hamas do not talk directly, so Egypt has been mediating talks on solidifying the shaky ceasefire that went into effect on January 18, ending Israel's three-week offensive on Gaza.

But a Hamas official, Mohammed Nasr, said Thursday that differences over opening the border crossings into Gaza were preventing the deal. Nasr was part of the negotiating team that left Cairo, but he is from the Syria arm of Hamas and not the group returning to Gaza.

Hamas demands that any truce include the full opening of borders into Gaza, which Israel and Egypt have largely kept sealed since Hamas seized control of the territory from Palestinian rivals Fatah in 2007. Hamas also wants a role in administering the border crossings in recognition of its power in Gaza.

Israel says it won't ease the blockade of the densely populated and impoverished coastal strip without international guarantees

Hamas will be prevented from smuggling more weapons into Gaza. It does not want Hamas to have a role in controlling Gaza's border crossings.

Nasr said smuggling would only stop if the borders were open.

"The main point revolves around us getting a clear and honest commitment to lift the blockade completely. We still didn't get that,"

Nasr told The Associated Press before leaving to Damascus. "We have no agreement until we have an agreement on everything."

The deputy head of Hamas, Moussa Abo Marzouk, told the AP by telephone from Damascus that talks have failed so far because of what he called "Israeli stubbornness and setting new conditions at each stage".

He said Israel said it would open the crossings by 70 per cent without giving Hamas details how this percentage would be defined.

Nasr said his group is expecting answers from the Israelis on the border issue. His comments came as Israel's point man on the negotiations arrived in Egypt for talks.

AP